;)
;)
;)
;)
Work wagering
Our family has a (possibly apocryphal) story about my great-grandmother Elsie. She had nine daughters and, naturally, it was essential that everyone chip in and do their part to keep the household going. One morning she discovered that one of the daughters hadn't done her work. Known for her spunk, my great grandma marched over to the school where they were gathered for their morning assembly. She wrote a little note and it was passed from hand to hand all the way up to the front where the principal read it aloud: "Please send ____ home to come complete her unfinished work." (Someone in the family please correct me...this is the gist of it but I don't remember the particulars.)
. . .
Well, this one's for you, Elsie:
Yesterday I discovered that certain smaller people in the house didn't do their prep-for-guests jobs that they were asked to do this weekend. Now, maybe they wagered that, since it's kind of important to have clean bathrooms for guests, I would just go ahead and do their jobs for them.
They wagered wrong!
Nothing a little sign can't fix.
I don't think they were sufficiently embarrassed though, at least not enough to commence cleaning. I may have to resort to marching to the school... So basically what we have is a work standoff. Who's going to blink first?
What works in your house to get the crew working?
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Reader Comments (6)
HA!
Hold your ground, Annie.
Occasionally we do have to resort to threats.
No work, no play.
No computer, no TV, no games and NO Books! (The last one is the one that finally gets things going, I think they're thinking while I'm listing the other ones...."well, I'll just find a nice quiet place to read...")
My great-grandmother's name is Elsie, too. =)
hilarious! we still have enough control over our kids' schedules that we just all do chores together on saturday mornings. and music is the key. we have a family compiled playlist so everyone has some say in the tuneage, and we block off 2 hours. as soon as the two hours is up, they are welcome to play video games, go outside, have friends over, etc. it's like a well-oiled machine. i'm terrified of them getting older because i guarantee a wrench will be thrown in said machine.
I never thought of that one. I'm in full prep mode, too. Ours arrive tomorrow and I can't wait - because it means I will have to be done cleaning!
Happy turkey day, friend!
My kids' absolute favorite story from my husband's childhood is this: One day (at high school) he receives an urgent message telling him to return home. He left immediately. Once home he rushed through the door and called out to his mother, who then appeared in the doorway and told him he forgot to make his bed. Yep. HE FORGOT TO MAKE HIS BED, for which offense his mother called the school and demanded he come home.
I've heard the story 100 times (at least) and I'm still laughing.
About 10 years ago, I went on strike. Walked up and down the walk in front of the house, carrying a sign and chanting my demands. They all thought it was great entertainment until they realized I meant business. It makes a good story now.